Symposium

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Benedict Emerges And Defends His Abuse Record

Provided by the Vatican paper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis, left, meets Pope emeritus Benedict XVI in Castel Gandolfo Saturday, March 23, 2013. Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has emerged from his self-imposed silence inside the Vatican to publish a lengthy letter to one of Italy's most well-known atheists. In it, he defends his record on handling sexually abusive priests and discusses everything from evolution to theology to the figure of Jesus Christ. Excerpts of the letter were published Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013 by La Repubblica, the same newspaper which just two weeks ago published a similar letter from Pope Francis to its own atheist publisher. The letters indicate the two men in white, who live across the Vatican gardens from one another, are pursuing a collaborative campaign of sorts to engage non-believers.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has
emerged from his self-imposed silence inside the Vatican walls to
publish a lengthy letter to one of Italy's most well-known atheists. In
it, he denies having covered up for sexually abusive priests and
discusses everything from evolution to the figure of Jesus Christ.

Excerpts of the letter were published Tuesday by La
Repubblica, the same newspaper which just two weeks ago published a
similar letter from Pope Francis to its own atheist publisher. The
letters indicate that the two men in white — who live across the Vatican
gardens from one another — are pursuing an active campaign to engage
non-believers. It's a melding of papacies past and present that has no
precedent and signals that the popes — while very different in style,
personality and priorities — are of the same mind on many issues and
might even be collaborating on them.

Benedict wrote the letter to Piergiorgio Odifreddi, an Italian
atheist and mathematician who in 2011 wrote a book "Dear Pope, I'm
Writing to You." The book was Odifreddi's reaction to Benedict's classic
"Introduction to Christianity," perhaps his best-known work.

In his book, Odifreddi posed a series of polemical
arguments about the Catholic faith, including the church's sex abuse
scandal. The former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger headed the Vatican office
responsible for abuse cases, and was pope when scandal erupted in 2010,
with thousands of people coming forward in Europe, Latin America and
beyond saying they had been molested by priests while the Vatican turned
a blind eye.

In his letter, Benedict denies personal
responsibility, saying: "I never tried to cover these things up." "That
the power of evil penetrated so far into the interior world of the faith
is a suffering that we must bear, but at the same time we must do
everything to prevent it from repeating," he wrote, according to
Repubblica.

While Vatican officials have long insisted that
Benedict did more than anyone in the church to confront the problem of
abusive clergy, Benedict's letter marked the first time he himself had
publicly denied personal responsibility for the scandal.

Benedict became the first pope in 600 years to
resign when he retired Feb. 28, setting the stage for the election of
Francis two weeks later. Benedict said at the time that he would spend
his final years "hidden from the world," living in a converted monastery
tucked behind St. Peter's Basilica, reading and praying.

Benedict's decision to cloister himself was in part
due to his own shy, bookish nature, but also to make clear that he was
no longer pope and that his successor was in charge. Fear of schism in
the church had prevented popes for centuries from stepping down, and
Benedict's resignation immediately raised some not-insignificant
questions: How would the Catholic Church deal with the novel situation
of having one reigning and one retired pope living side-by-side, each of
them called "pope," each of them wearing papal white and even sharing
the same aide in Monsignor Georg Gaenswein?

Benedict has been seen only a handful of times
since his retirement, and only once with Francis at an official Vatican
ceremony in July. A prolific writer, he has published nothing since
retiring — except for the encyclical "The Light of Faith" which was
signed by Francis but was actually written almost entirely by Benedict.

All of which made Repubblica's publication of his
letter all the more remarkable, since it came out of the blue and just
two weeks after a letter on almost the exact same subject was penned by
Francis on the same pages.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi,
said it was pure coincidence that the two men had written two well-known
Italian atheists on the same subject in as many weeks. Francis' letter
used a language that is much closer to Benedict's style — but Lombardi
denied the two had collaborated on it.

"They are autonomous and distinct initiatives,"
Lombardi told The Associated Press. In Benedict's letter, he takes
Odifreddi to task for what he said was the "aggressiveness" of his book,
and responds to many of the arguments raised with piqued criticism
himself.

"What you say about the figure of Jesus isn't
worthy of your scientific standing," wrote Benedict, who authored a
highly praised, three-volume work on the Jesus Christ during his
pontificate. He similarly criticizes Odifreddi's "religion of
mathematics" as "empty" since it doesn't even consider three fundamental
themes for humanity: freedom, love and evil.

On evolution, he wrote: "If you want to substitute
God with Nature, the question remains: What does this Nature consist of?
Nowhere do you define it and it appears rather like an irrational
divinity that doesn't explain anything."

Odifreddi, for his part, wrote in an accompanying
piece Tuesday that he was stunned to have received the letter, though he
said he wrote the book precisely in hopes Benedict might read it. He
said he sought, and obtained, Benedict's permission to publish the
letter.

He said he planned to re-issue his book with
Benedict's letter included: "an unprecedented dialogue between a
theologian pope and an atheist mathematician, divided in most everything
but drawn together by at least one objective: the search for Truth."

FROM THE ARCHIVES: THE AMBROSE EHIRIM-CHIKA UNIGWE INTERVIEW

Every writer has to be able to live in the head of her characters. I had to make myself a blank blackboard for the characters to inscribe their lives on me. I had to wipe off that board every time a new character had to be created and totally surrender myself to that new character.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: INTERVIEW: THE SYLVESTER MENSAH STORY

The idea of writing a book had always engaged my thoughts based on reflections and the desire to share my experiences. The motivation was however triggered after reading the book of a gentleman l consider the busiest in Ghana, H. E. John Dramani Mahama

FROM THE ARCHIVES: INTERVIEW: DR. APOLLOS NWAUWA

Contrary to what many think, the Igbo Diaspora is not really a homogenous, coherent group. Like other ethnic nationalities in the USA, the Igbo Diaspora consists of peoples from all walks of life separated by everything and only united by the fact that they are all Igbo. Serious social class disparity exists between them; therefore, presenting a united front in influencing or engineering actions at home continues to be a challenge.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: INTERVIEW: OZO'S KENI SAINT GEORGE

It was indeed a very boisterous, purpose driven, well-to-do Royal family. I come from a lineage of Royals and a well groomed family unit. My Father, Chief George Ozuloke, was a Court Judge for all of 18 years. He was both a Christian and Animist. He had 7 wives of which my mother was the first. I went to St. Martins Primary School and later to a wonderful School – Abbot Secondary Grammar School in Ihiala, my town. I even did a stint in Ihiala Seminary trying to be a Catholic Priest

FROM THE ARCHIVES: INTERVIEW: JULIUS KPADUWA

The problems that confront Imo State are really not unique. It is the same problem that confronts almost every state in Nigeria, and it's one of economic development. The primary thing or my clear vision for the people of Imo State will be getting all the able-bodied men and women back to work, so that we can begin to have the quality of life that has so far eluded the people of Imo State.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: THE OTOKOTO SAGA INTERVIEW

Earlier this year, in January, it was reported in the country’s dailies that your father and six others had been condemned to death. Those condemned with your father were: Alban Ajaegbu, Sampson Nnamito, Ebenezer Egwuekwe, Rufus Anyanwu, Lawrence Eboh, and Chief Leonard Unogu. How is your dad related to the names I have mentioned?

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Where We Met

But seeing a Nigeria headline on my screen it then occurred to him I must either be a Nigerian or perhaps a curious minded fellow who is reading to find out about the notorious Boko Haram, if they have captured more of their victims, or if there's an ongoing battle between the insurgents and the nation's security forces. Elevating my head up and starring at each other, I told him I was Igbo

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About Me

Ambrose Ehirim is a blogger, a writer, a photo-journalist, a volunteer and teacher. He has published articles and essays in African Times, African Watch, Pace News, Los Angeles Weekly, Life & Time Magazine, Kilima, American Chronicle, Long Beach Sentinel, Reuters and many other publications. He was former editor of New Life and West Coast Bureau Chief at the BNW Magazine. An Anti-Igbo Pogrom scholar and researcher, and currently working on and researching the 'Eastside Groups and Bands' Vintage Years.'

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